STORRS — Monday's game marked only the second time the Stanford women have played at Gampel Pavilion and the first time in more than 13 years.

The Cardinal beat the Huskies, 68-54, on Feb. 20, 1993 in the second meeting ever between the two teams. According to UConn coach Geno Auriemma, just getting the Cardinal to come here was a significant matter for the Huskies.

"It was right after they won the national championship," Auriemma said. "I remember how good they were, and how big and athletic they were compared to us. At the time we were trying to get teams like Stanford into our building because we were trying to be like them. The only way you can be like them is to play them. We had played them at their place (in 1989). So getting them to come here, like we got Auburn to come here and Tennessee came here a couple years later and California came here ... So we had some success getting great teams to come here. That helped us get to where we are."

The game not only marked the introduction of big-time basketball to Gampel, but it ushered in the tremendous following from which the Huskies wouldn't benefit for years to come.

The game against Stanford was the first women's basketball sellout ever at Gampel.

"A lot of those people we're just getting used to what women's basketball was and wanted to see what a team like Stanford was like," Auriemma said. "They had heard about them but hadn't seen them. People were just starting to get excited about UConn basketball and they wanted to see one of the best teams in the country. What's important is what we did after that. Building on that success was most important. Some schools have had that happen to them and missed out on the opportunity to grow. We took advantage of it."

The Huskies lost the first three games they played against Stanford, and they have also lost some big games since then. Stanford halted UConn's national record 90-game consecutive win streak three years ago and knocked the Huskies out of the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and 2008.

But the win Monday night gave UConn a 9-6 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.

Of course, the Huskies beat Stanford in the 2009 national semifinals and then again in the 2010 national championship.

The teams have one more game left in the current series as they are scheduled to play next season in Palo Alto, probably in November.

Another banner: Prior to Monday's game the Huskies unveiled their 8th national championship banner on the wall above section 210 of Gampel. The championship tied UConn for the most in women's basketball history with Tennessee.

Nursing another recruit: UConn 2014 target Kia Nurse, a six-foot guard from Hamilton, Ontario Canada was on campus this weekend making an unofficial visit, but she had to leave before the Stanford game because Monday marked the start of a dead period.

Nurse said she still plans to visit both Kentucky and Tennessee before making her official decision.

The 17-year-old has some great family genes working on her behalf. Her father played football in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger Cats.

Her sister and her mother both played Division I basketball, her brother was a first-round NHL draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, and her uncle is former All-Pro NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.

She was the starting point guard for the Senior Canadian National Team that competed at the FIBA Americas qualifier this summer. The team finished second to qualify for the FIBA World Championships next year.

Earning her number: From the time she stepped onto the UConn campus, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has been compared to Maya Moore in terms of scoring ability, overall skills, body type and potential. She even took Moore's No. 23 before it even had one season to rest in honor of the school's all-time leading scorer.

"In New Orleans, I told her she could keep the number," Moore said. "She had a great year. She's an unbelievable shooter but can score in so many different ways. She reminds me of myself and how the coaches are working to make sure that she can score from anywhere. She can take advantage of smaller guards inside and she can kill defenders on the outside when they give her space on the perimeter. She's expanded her game and taken it to a higher level."

Mosqueda-Lewis jokingly thanked Moore for finally giving her permission to wear the number after she won a national championship in New Orleans.

Moore laughs about it, but she is very serious about how much she loves all that Mosqueda-Lewis accomplishes wearing her No. 23.

"At the end of the year, there was no question about where she was," Moore said. "That's the hardest thing to do, when the other team knows. They know she wants the ball and wants to score the ball and they know where she wants it. And she still scores. I'm proud of her development."

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